‘Yes, Daddy’ by Jonathan Parks-Ramage, came on to my radar thanks to the wonderful Chip (@booksoverbros). Then I caught Lindsay’s (@theopinionatedreader) review, which started with ‘I truly do not know how I can construct a review to do this book any justice.’ At which point I stopped reading because I didn’t want any spoilers and that once sentence was enough for me to grab the iPad and start reading.

This is by far one of my favourite reads of 2021 so far, as evidenced by the fact I read it in almost one sitting and stayed up till after 2am because I had to finish it and see how it ended!

I feel that the title and cover of this book are highly deceptive. If I hadn’t read the synopsis or seen to bookstagrammers I love raving about this book, I may have assumed it fell into the erotica category (I am not against that at all!). However, Park-Ramage deals with some very difficult and important topics throughout the course of this novel.

Yes, Daddy deals with the topics of power, coercion, physical and mental abuse, rape, drug abuse, suicide, conversion therapy, family dynamics and estrangement, the impacts of childhood stardom and victim blaming. It felt like a #MeToo novel for the gay community and a powerful story at that.

I was hooked from the prologue, where the main character, Jonah, keeps referring to another character by only calling them ‘You’. Without giving anything away, based on where the prologue is set and what is taking place, I immediately wanted to know who ‘You’ was and spent the remainder of my reading trying to decipher which of the other characters it could be.

This book is not an easy read, but I do feel that it is important for many reasons.

Personally, I feel that we hear a lot about the abuses and harassment women face, either within the entertainment industries via the #MeToo and #TimesUp movements or in everyday society, but rarely do we discuss the abuse, rape and domestic violence men can face, regardless of their sexuality. It is as if this topic is taboo, that saying you have been abused as a man you are no longer able to share in the ‘mainstream’ male qualities of strength, masculinity, power and more. This is not the case and anyone that has been abused, victimised or harassed deserves to be heard, supported and acknowledged regardless of their sex, gender, sexuality, race or religion. Here, I felt that Parks-Ramage dealt with such an important topic in a sensitive manner.

I also appreciated how he discussed the topic of conversion therapy within the church and other church and family related themes that arose during the book. At times I wanted to climb into the pages and hug and help Jonah.

What really struck me was the importance of the media, which is timely considering the discussions we are currently having regarding Britney Spears and her conservatorship. In the instance of Yes, Daddy, it was hard to watch as certain characters spiralled and were tabloid fodder, when the reader knew what they had been through and the cause of their pain. It was also so infuriating, but very real, to watch as the media were blaming victims for their roles in the events that occurred, without considering what they themselves had been through and how this could have impact and affected their own actions. Instead of empathy, they only cared for the headlines and clicks, and this is all too real in the world we live in! As I say, it reminds me of the discussions we are having around Britney Spears, where the media profited off of her mental health and personal issues back in 2007 (and since), writing stories and headlines that were in no way helpful to her or anyone else that may have been suffering in a similar way, yet now they are the first to come out and throw their support behind her without acknowledging or apologising for the role they did and have continued to play.

Rarely do I feel fully satisfied at the end of a book, but I did here. It didn’t end the way that I was expecting but when I did reach that last line, I wasn’t left disappointed or wanting more. Basically, Parks-Ramage nailed it and I will definitely be reading whatever he comes out with next!

This book is out now and if you haven’t guessed already, I highly recommend you pick it up!

Thank you to NetGalley and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt for a free ARC copy of this book.

Phenomenal Debut!!!!

Jonah was raised in a strict evangelical family, his father a minister, so imagine their shame when they discover that Jonah is gay. They send him to conversion therapy and they try to pray away the gay never realizing what effect this is having on Jonah himself. He makes his escape after college to be a successful playwright in NYC but what he becomes is a struggling waiter which discourages him even further.

Then he meets the successful playwright Richard Shriver and they hit it off. After a few months of dating Richard invites him to his compound in The Hamptons. Jonah can't believe his luck. He feels as if his life is finally taking a turn for the better and that the love of Richard will be what saves him.

He couldn't be more wrong.

I can't even begin to tell you how very dark this book is. It's excruciating at times. I was cringing and squirming while reading several scenes all the while my blood was boiling and my heart was breaking. That is no easy feat for an author to pull off but Jonathan Parks-Ramage did it effortlessly. This man was born to write and with that I have no doubt. While religion does play a heavy theme I found it very well done and I came to appreciate it as this was the world Jonah grew up in. The ending was bittersweet and I turned the final page with tears in my eyes. Be forewarned that this book is very graphic and there are triggers galore if you should decide to read this. ALL THE STARS!!!

Thank you to NetGalley and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt for my copy.

I didn’t know what I was getting myself into with this one. Without giving too much away I will say that this is a powerful and at times heartbreaking book. Trigger warnings include but aren’t limited to: sexual assault, grooming, gaslighting, homophobia/conversion therapy.

Yes, Daddy tells the story of Jonah, a young man who is trying to establish himself in NYC after breaking away from his religious Midwestern upbringing. He quickly devises a plan to charm his way into a relationship with an established playwriter in the hopes of boosting his own career. It almost seems too easy, but shortly into their relationship Jonah is introduced to the nefarious side of show business.

It was heartbreaking to read Jonah’s life story that seemed to be traumatic event after another. Even before his relationship with Richard and his summer at the compound we see Jonahs struggles as a gay son of a mega church pastor. The past scenes of conversion therapy and the relentless pursuit of the “doctor” to find some terrible event to blame Jonahs homosexuality on is terrifying and all too real. The author did an excellent job with Mace’s story and the media’s obsession with the pain and tragedy that so many child stars deal with. This all felt very real, including the lack of justice, and that is what made it even harder to read at times.

I had heard so many great things about this book that I had to request it. Unfortunately, I ended up putting this book aside around the 60% mark. The writing style was intriguing but I found the content darker than I wanted to read. There are a bunch of trigger warnings for this book like sexual abuse and rape, homophobia, drug use, and depression to name a few. I'm sure there would be more if I had finished the book.

The plot was both mesmerizing and horrifying like a train wreck you can't take your eyes from but for me it leaned more into the horrifying. The characters never felt fully realized but I will say the villains of the story where the way they were written made it easy to hate them.

I can see so many people enjoying this book as a dark thriller as well as a social commentary on one aspect of the #MeToo movement where successful, rich older men prey on younger gay men. It is a book that is both needed and will spark many conversations that need to take place. I can see this book being very controversial. I can applaud what the author was trying to do with it but it just was too dark for me to finish reading it.

Because I didn't finish it, I won't be rating it.

*ARC provided by the publisher via Netgalley

I think I will start with the title and the cover- two things that seem to entice readers into thinking they are picking up a sexy “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous” salacious tell-all that includes some dark and twisty turns. The blurbage doesn’t do much to argue that. Hell, neither does the first chapter.

However, that is not AT ALL what this book is. This book is about a young man (Jonah) who encounters trauma after trauma after trauma. We follow Jonah’s journey growing up with Evangelical parents who send him to conversion therapy, the subsequent breakup of the family, Jonah being raped and intimidated out of testifying against his rapist, being annihilated by the media, and getting raped again. Throughout all, Jonah is a mess and he is confused and he is more concerned with forgiveness from others and less with healing himself- which is PART OF BEING TRAUMATIZED.

There is value in books about trauma and its aftermath, and I think this book missed an opportunity to fully explore what can happen to a man who experiences repeated trauma and has no safety net or social support to fall back on. Humans respond to trauma in wildly different ways, and it’s crucial to take this into account when assigning blame. This is touched on briefly by one of the characters in the book, but it isn’t central.

There are multiple abrupt shifts in this novel, which made me feel like the author wasn’t quite sure exactly what he was trying to accomplish. The pacing is off. The tone is unrelenting, which can be intentional and successful in books that are more sure about what they are trying to say.

Ultimately, I think there are better executed and nuanced works in this vein, and the marketing decisions baffled me.

Thank you to HMH and NetGalley for the review copy.

This is an intense journey of self discovery and recovery from abuse and rape, and survivor’s guilt, along with some serious religion talk about the dangers of conversion therapy. Major trigger warnings include rape, gaslighting, underage, non-consent, drugs, physical abuse, emotional abuse, verbal abuse. It is an exceedingly heavy read even from the start, as it starts with a flashback.

Jonah is the gay son of a pastor and a church wife, raised in an extremely religious household. After enduring traumatic conversion therapy, he escapes to grad school and, from there, to New York City to start his career as a writer. Making ends meet is hard, but he has an okay job as a waiter. When he learns that Richard Shriver, a famous playwright and author, is doing an event near him, Jonah can’t stay away, attracted to this successful silver fox of a man. They begin to date, Jonah trailing along behind Richard to the various events such a famous man attends. He doesn’t feel like he fits in but he loves the power and enjoys being close to such a powerful man. He enjoys feeling valued, both as a person and as a writer, and lets Richard berate him or abuse him in other ways. When Richard and Jonah go to the Hamptons for what is supposed to be a weeklong vacation, Jonah is drawn into the disturbing happenings there. Gaslighted and stranded with no phone or computer, no contact to the outside world, Jonah is desperate to escape and perhaps rescue the other men who are just as trapped as he is.

Jonah’s story is told mostly from first person point of view, slowly revealing his backstory as the main plot moves forward. Some chapters, including the intro, are addressed to ‘you’, a character revealed later. I was not aware of the strong connections to religion before picking this book up. I don’t think it would have stopped me from reading. I don’t think anything could have stopped me from reading, with how strongly I was pulled into the narrative from the start. I read it on my phone in its entirety over two sittings; two sittings because I had to go to bed and had enough restraint to stop about ten percent into the book. The other ninety percent, I read like a person watches a car wreck; I just couldn’t look away.

Jonah bemoans capitalism and the insanely expensive lifestyle of any New Yorker, even one living in an extremely rundown sublet. He feels trapped into staying with Richard because he doesn’t have the money to do anything else and, gaslighted, he feels forced to stay in the Hamptons and work of the supposed debt he accumulated when dating Richard. Meals, rent, clothes...all of it proposed as gifts but were actually Richard trapping Jonah. Each new thing just horrified me and I couldn’t stop reading.

There is so much yearning for something better, a better life, more money. And life just keeps taking Jonah down. He does put himself in a dangerous situation to start, throwing himself at Richard. But circumstance and gaslighting lead him down an even more dangerous path. He keeps escaping, not exactly coming out on top but at least he’s still alive. And the guilt--it is palpable from the start and only increases as the story progresses. Guilt for whatever he did to his father. Guilt for not doing enough. Guilt for not being enough. It drowned me how realistic it was. Jonah does not act like the model victim. He is afraid. He is imperfect. He is shallow and vain and mean. But he is trying to make up for his mistakes, no matter how insurmountable they may seem; he keeps going. And that in itself is inspiring.

I recommend that anyone interested in this book heed the trigger warnings that I and other reviewers have posted. It is a heavy book, for all that it reads fast. It is traum after trauma, with recovery and some more trauma. It is a bumpy road to a recovery that never fully happens and will leave you wanting more.

Thank you to the publisher for giving me a chance to read this book. This story takes place in the Hampton's, and let me just start off by saying that I love books in this setting. The Hampton's in and of themselves conjure up feelings of extremely leisure and luxury. The main character in this story is Jonah Keller, who is a struggling playwright living in New York, trying to make ends meet by living in a run-down apartment and working at a restaurant. Jonah stumbles upon a picture of Richard Playwright, who is an award winning playwright, and basically everything that Jonah aspires to be. Jonah sets up a meeting between him and Richard, and so begins a passionate affair. There is definitely more to this story that meets the eye. The pages are full of passion and opulence, and the author does a great job of exploring lots of different dynamics, from socioeconomic status between the haves and the have-nots, and so much more. In a way, there were parts of this story that felt like a modern day Gatsby re-telling. Overall I felt that this was a strong debut by the author, and I am definitely looking forward to seeing what he comes up with next.

A gothic tale set in NYC and the Hamptons, this is a novel you will not soon forget.. Jonah is a young gay man struggling to survive in the city. He is fresh out of college and waiting tables but dreams to become a published playwright. A the opening of the book he has created a grand scheme to meet a famous playwright at an event - hoping this will change his luck and possibly lead to romance. The question is - Who is playing who?

This is a dark drama and contains graphic scenes. You will be sucked in to the story quickly, wondering how Jonah can possibly survive. Highly recommend!

TW: sexual harassment, sexual assault, rape, physical abuse, verbal abuse, domestic abuse

This book was just not for me. I did not enjoy it at all and was very uncomfortable as I was expecting to go into a psychological thriller type novel rather than a book focusing mostly and graphically depicting sexual assault and rape.

I received an ARC of this novel from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

A young boy who is not accepted by his parents engages in a relationship with an abusive older man.

The synopsis of this book intrigued me. A young man galls on love with an older male playwright. The relationship is rocky and traumatic and abusive in parts. A hard story to read but a timely one. I enjoyed it.

An addicting, dark, emotional, heartbreaking gay thriller.

This is NOT the fun summer read that the cover makes it out to be. This particular novel is one that you really need to know what you are getting yourself into before reading. It has just about every trigger warning imaginable, especially for queer people. Please research the list of trigger warnings before embarking on this read.

Synopsis:
Jonah is a young, twenty-something gay man fresh in NYC. He is an aspiring playwright, struggling to pay his rent with his watering job. Jonah orchestrates a "run-in" with a much older, very successful playwright, Richard. Once the pair become a "couple," Jonah is invited to spend the summer at Richards Hampton home, where he owns a compound of homes with some of his closest friends. Jonah notices that the "waitstaff" at the Hampton homes are all young, gay men, but doesn't think anything of it at the time. Jonah soon learns what kind of sinister activities happen at the compound, but cannot find a way out of the nightmare that he is trapped in. The things that happen to him that summer will haunt him for the rest of his life.

Thoughts:
I really appreciate the exploration of the flipside of the #MeToo movement, where this book explores older, successful men taking advantage of young, aspiring men in horrible ways. We all know men can be sexually abused as well, and this book really dives deep into it. This book is F**CKED up and is really quite hard to read. I had a hard time with the conversation therapy and religious aspects of this book, as that hit really close to home for me. This book contains so many kinds of queer suffering in one story and almost ZERO queer healthy and happy characters. This was a page-turner for me, however, I do think the last third of the book went in too many directions and was trying to do too much. I would have preferred a narrower approach. I think this is a very important read if you keep in mind how hard it might be to get through.

#YesDaddy #LGBTQREADS #READWITHPRIDE

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! No spoilers. Beyond amazing I enjoyed this book so very much. The characters and storyline were fantastic. The ending I did not see coming Could not put down nor did I want to. Truly Amazing and appreciated the whole story. This is going to be a must read for many many readers. Maybe even a book club pick.

Wow, this book left me nearly speechless. I should add that there are definite content/trigger warnings: rape, homophobia, drug abuse, assault, sexual violence


Jonah is a young twenty-something who is living hand to mouth in NYC after fleeing his evangelical parents' home after coming out as gay. As a teenager, he was subjected to gay conversion therapy prompting him to make an accusation that changed his family forever. He know works at a restaurant, paying his rent weeks late, and hoping to be discovered as a playwright. His luck changes when he makes the decision to attend the famous playwright, Richard Shriver's, film festival. As he had hoped, his attendance that night is the beginning of his relationship with Richard and seems to set in motion all of his dreams coming true. When he's invited to Richard's compound in the Hamptons for the summer, he jumps on the opportunity but quickly realizes that things are not as they seem and that he is now in a position he cannot escape. This book took several dark and violent turns. It was not a feel-good story and I left needing to read something more uplifting afterwards. That being said, it was intriguing and I raced through it in less than two days because I needed to know what happened.

I was drawn into the exciting premise of Yes, Daddy: a struggling waiter/playwright goes to stay with a rich, successful writer in the Hamptons only to become trapped in a sinister world. I was expecting something more along the lines of a horror movie, which left me a little let down. This is more of a sad reflection on trauma and not letting people control or abuse you, as much as you admire them or want to accept what they can offer you. Overall, this book felt a bit disjointed and unevenly paced. The subject matter is important and Jonah's experiences felt real, but overall it dragged a bit for me.

Yes, Daddy by Jonathan Parks-Ramage

Deeply disturbing dysfunctional families impacted most of the characters appearing in this book. Predators and prey were damaged though the way they expressed this was varied greatly. Wanting something more and seeking fulfillment or love or whatever it was…didn’t work out well for more than one person in this devastating story. I kept hoping that it wouldn’t be quite so dark, that a glimpse of light in the darkness might have been offered, that different decisions had been made, wondered why different steps had not been taken, wished that the oh so prevalent evil could have been obliterated… But, in truth, life doesn’t provide joy for everyone, dealing with suffering is not easy, finding peace and forgiveness is not always possible, and coming back from the abyss – if it is possible at all – leaves a changed and either still broken or perhaps better person.

The writing of this book was graphic, drew me in, made me feel, want to reach out and save more than one, give hugs, provide healing, and put a few behind bars…or at least give them a taste of what they dealt out to others. NOTE: This book may trigger some readers and is not for the faint of heart.

This is a new-to-me author with a promising future and I would read another book by him.

Thank you to NetGalley and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt for the ARC – This is my honest review.

4-5 Stars

REVIEW - Yes, Daddy by Jonathan Parks-Ramage - Out in July 2021

Thank you to Netgalley and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Content warnings for sexual assault, physical, verbal and emotional abuse, rape (a lot), non-con, evangelical preaching in a ‘pray the gay away’ (which can trigger some folks), conversion therapy, this book is one big trigger warning.

Yes, Daddy is about a young man named Jonah who moves to New York to pursue his dreams of becoming a playwright. He falls into the typical trap of working in a restaurant and being unable to get started because he is under a mountain of debt, drowning in his work environment serving handsy white old gay men drinks and begging for tips so he can make his rent.

His goal is to be noticed by wealthy and very successful playwright Richard and gain himself a sugar daddy. Richard takes him on and things go as planned...for a little while.

What begins as something lovely quickly spirals into a toxic, manipulative, abusive relationship in which Richard is hot and cold with Jonah, treating him like garbage one second and then fawning over him the next, until Jonah has no idea which way is up, other than “I can’t leave him, he loves me, and without him I have nothing”.

I read this book in a couple of sittings… It’s written in the form of one big document Jonah means to send to one of the other boys he meets on one of his trips with Richard, another boy he recognizes is in the same situation and quickly spiralling out of control.

Without spoilers, I am happy to report the book does end on a high note considering how much trauma Jonah goes through…

I’m not sure how I felt about it. It was well written. The traumatic events were...well, traumatic. I won’t read it again, but I also don’t feel steeped in ‘yuck’ after reading it, which some books make me feel like when they have this sort of content.

The ending was hopeful, and I felt happy that Jonah was able to start therapy to begin his road to healing.

I don’t know what to rate it, I honestly don’t, because I don’t want to say that I enjoyed it, because it was so...much, but after some thinking, I will give it three out of five stars because it was well written and Jonah did go on a rounded journey.

3 stars.

Yes, Daddy is one heck of a debut! In this book we follow Jonah, a young man whose struggling to make ends meet in NYC when he meets Richard. The two quickly fall into a passionate affair and Jonah feels lucky to have the attention of older, wealthy Richard but is it all too good to be true?

This #metoo age thriller does a great job in exploring class and power dynamics, and how easy it is to find yourself lost and powerless. It makes for a bleak and rather horrifying read at points but it's a very powerful, and important, thriller that discusses topics that are far too often pushed under the rug.

Jonah was such a well-explored character and I applaud how complex the author made him. Jonah is not a perfect character, he does make some questionable choices but of course the reader cannot help but root for and want the best for him. I liked gradually getting his backstory throughout as it allowed the reader to see exactly why he might've made certain choices, and I also appreciated the commentary in regards to conversion camp and religious beliefs.

Overall, an extremely dark and uncomfortable thriller that is also incredibly important. This was an exceptional debut novel and I'm eager to see what this author comes out with next.

I don’t know how I feel now that I finished this book.

I didn’t hate it, but it just kinda fell flat at the end for me. I was invested in Jonah’s story, don’t get me wrong, but when it suddenly shifted into a religious second rebirth of sorts it just didn’t feel satisfying to me.

No one got justice. Richard still gets to live free but without good standing in the public eye. Like, so? He should’ve died.

Jonah’s dad just came out of nowhere while questions that were actually compelling enough to deserve answers get left up in the air.

I dunno.

Maybe it’ll make a better miniseries than a book.

iThank you to Netgalley and Houghton Miflin for giving me this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

It's been several days since I finished and I'm still not sure how to review Yes Daddy.

Jonah is a young guy man who decides to get his hooks into much older playwright Richard Schriver. Richard soon ask Jonah to stay the summer in the Hamptons with him and as Jonah soon learns a cast of characters with a sinister secret. Jonah isn't the first young man to be lured to the compound of these rich men and he won't be the last.

This book contains some graphic scenes including rape by multiple people, conversion therapy, suicide, drug use and other dark subject matter. This is not for every reader for sure.

I really liked the whole premise of the book but I really didn't like any of the characters and the way Jonah talks about other characters or sometimes referring to one of them as "you" threw me off the storyline at times trying to figure out what was going on.

*Received ARC through NetGalley. Voluntarily reviewed *